QuidCon 2021 Coming This Spring

Even though there have been countless tournaments, there haven’t been many quidditch conventions, and none of them has taken place entirely in a virtual space. That’s about to change. The first virtual Muggle quidditch convention, QuidCon 2021, will be held March 5–7. It’s for anyone – from players to volunteers and from referees to directors of tournaments. They only have to buy a ticket, which is pay-what-it’s-worth. That means that any participant can pay however much they want and however much they can afford. The minimum price is $1.00.

The event is organized mostly by Major League Quidditch, which finished its MLQ Virtual on December 16. US Quidditch (USQ) and Quidditch Canada are also involved as coproducers of QuidCon. They all are currently working on a program that should be announced soon.

Credit: QuidCon

QuidCon is looking for speakers now. Anyone who wants to host a panel has until January 21 to fill out a form on the QuidCon website, and panelists will know if they have been selected the following week. Suggested topics include event management, strategy and tactics, volunteering, social issues and concerns, team management, marketing, and fun activities. Speakers can choose between three formats: a webinar with a presentation, a panel with audience discussion, or a workshop. It is also possible to propose a topic without volunteering to speak about it.

Despite its virtual format this year, QuidCon 2021 is not actually the first quidditch convention, nor is it the first time that QuidCon has been held. The first QuidCon was created by the International Quidditch Association (IQA), which was later split into two, with USQ and the IQA as separate entities. The first QuidCon was held in August 2012 in Chicago, Illinois, and was attended by over 80 people. The second QuidCon was held in 2013 in Seattle, Washington. The third and most recent QuidCon was held in 2014 in Washington, DC. That was also the year in which the IQA and USQ were separated.